Is Heat depth still lacking?

ASK IRA:

August 29, 2014|By Ira Winderman, SunSentinel.com

August 29, 2014

Q: All of your arguments with signings like Shannon Brown are followed by "if" Dwyane Wade is healthy or "if" Danny Granger is back. I agree with that. However, this team should not be going forward like this. It's too risky. We need a better backup for Wade and the need at point guard has not been addressed, which was a glaring deficiency in the Finals. I know Pat Riley is not done, and as much as I hope D.W. is healthy, it makes no sense to risk the season on "ifs." -- Chet.

A: "Ifs" are what every team that's not the favorite carry into the season. I'm sure last year at this time the concerns in San Antonio included "if" the Spurs aren't too old, the caution in Oklahoma City was "if" Russell Westbrook could stay healthy, the worry in Chicago was "if" Derrick Rose could last an entire season. As for point guard, the worry a year ago was "if" Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole were good enough to get the Heat back to the Finals.

Q: Face it, to this point Pat Riley has done a very questionable job in putting together a bench that makes sense. You know better. Let's hope James Ennis or somebody unexpected will emerge. -- Matt.

A: All teams have flaws. What I know is that with Chris Bosh and Josh McRoberts, this team is better set 1-2 in the power rotation than it has been in years. And Shabazz Napier has a winning pedigree, so don't sell him short in the backcourt rotation. Perhaps he's your "bonus" addition. And there still are names and time out there. For every Leandro Barbosa that has come off the board, there still is a Jordan Crawford. And there also will be plenty of buyout names as camps draw closer, Jason Richardson potentially among them.

Q: I think what is frustrating for Miami Heat fans is that in some weird way it feels as though the last four years didn't exist. It is as though they have been erased from NBA memory. Does that make sense? Of course they haven't, and we have great memories. But LeBron James is gone and he was such a big part of the team. LeBron became an NBA champion with the Heat, attacked all the way through, and now back with Cleveland he is loved! Instead of the media writing about will the Heat make a record fifth consecutive trip to the NBA Finals (and this is how the 2014-2015 team compares to the prior years' teams.), we are still in a bit of a daze even though we understand why LeBron left. -- Stuart.

A: My response to that would be that even when the Heat won titles, Erik Spoelstra would say on the opening day of camp that it is time to move on, that you have to close the book on the previous season. There also is the reality that this is not the same team. If LeBron would have left and if Luol Deng was the only change, then with Shane Battier, Ray Allen, Rashard Lewis and others, it would have had the feel of somewhat of the same team. But there has been a significant overhaul. This is not your 2013-14 Heat or the roster that made four consecutive NBA Finals. Pat Riley has moved on. So, apparently, has the NBA. What matters is embracing what is next.

August 28, 2014

Q: Hi Ira, Shannon Brown? He's not a rotation player, by any means. He's a decent defender, and a horrible shooter. He's a 10-day-contract type of player. The bizarre free-agent signings continue. I'm hoping we get Leandro Barbosa after the World Cup is over. If healthy, he can help. -- Matt.

A: As I've continued to stress, these signings are ancillary to the top of the rotation. What matters in the NBA is the top eight. So it comes down to whether you believe a player added supplants one of: Chris Bosh, Josh McRoberts, Luol Deng, Dwyane Wade, Mario Chalmers, Chris Andersen, Danny Granger or Norris Cole. Otherwise, what you want are specialists, players who do one thing well, whether it is 3-point shooting, rebounding or defending. So with Brown, the hope has to be that the Heat have added a guard who can come off the bench as a stopper. Reggie Williams, Shawne Williams and Shannon Brown are about emergency depth. What the Heat have to hope is that Wade is healthy enough to play an entire season and that Danny Granger is what Pat Riley has been telling us Granger still can be.

A: Not necessarily. Remember, the Heat are operating well below the luxury tax, so there is minimal impact on offering minimal salaries. The question is whether Crawford sees himself in that neighborhood. I still believe that Barbosa, at this stage of his career, if healthy, had more upside for the Heat than Brown. But ESPN is reporting he is signing with the Warriors..

Q: Why not Andray Blatche indeed? He keeps a summer home near Miami. It would be great for the team. And he fits on the type of big Miami is usually after. -- Ryan, Naples.

A: I'm not sure about the last part, considering the liability aspect on defense. But, again, at the minimum, the price is almost always right.